


The Whims of the Fey

by CameoAmalthea



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:27:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23053951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CameoAmalthea/pseuds/CameoAmalthea
Summary: The Traveler reflects on his relationship with Jester.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 38





	The Whims of the Fey

The whims of the fey were...capacious to say the least. At least as far as mortals were concerned. How fey felt about mortals varied, both from fey to fey and at times moment to moment. How Artagan felt about Jester was unlike anything any fey had felt for a mortal. It was confusing. Confounding! Wholly unexpected and an absolute inversion on how the power dynamics of such things were supposed to work. He wasn’t supposed to be afraid of losing her approval, of losing her...although possessiveness wasn’t unheard of when it came to relationships with mortals.

Titania, the Summer Queen, found mortals amusing on occasion, both she and her partner Oberon had taken mortals as lovers- sometimes fighting over the same one. However, the royal couple, as with most of the Seelie Court, for the most part, considered themselves too above it all to have serious dealing with them. The Queen of Air and Darkness and her court, on the other hand, were keen on making deals with mortals and welcomed all...which was not necessarily a good thing for the mortals involved. Unseelie fey could certainly be possessive and in a way that might very well consume the mortal in question. But if a mortal wanted to sell their soul for a cantrip who was he to judge?

As for himself, Lord Artagan was not a member of either Court and had no interest in their wars, intrigues, the ethics of good and evil or blue and orange morality. 

His take on mortals was that they were nice enough when they managed to surprise him or amuse him. He couldn’t stand to be bored. Sometimes mortals could be interesting, a momentary break in the monotony of immortality. Although other times they could be predictable and boring and he’d simply leave them. Sometimes in a worse position than he found them, as he had never particularly cared about mortals. 

That said, Artagan didn’t find killing particularly entertaining. He enjoyed trickery and the consequences that mortals could get themselves at times but he didn’t particularly want anything from them. Nor did he enjoy the taste of misery or firstborn children for that matter. (Although to be clear, he’d never tried eating a child). 

He had observed the things that brought other creatures enjoyment, from nymphs to hags, nameless spirits, and Other Mothers. The good, the evil, the neutral beings who were rivers and trees and the gods of animals and forests. He had tried many different experiences over the eons of his life... He didn’t find good or evil particularly interesting for their own sakes. He was curious about mortal pleasures, for mortals rarely tended to be purely good or evil. They were unpredictable and so much more amusing for it.

In the first few years after he’d gained access to the prime material plane, he’s focused most of his attention on exploring human pleasures. That is what had led him to the Lavish Chateau. He never expected to fall into the role of an imaginary friend to a little girl. The patrons of the Chateau were full of desires, lust sure, but many were powerful men who wanted more power. And then there was a little girl, kept hidden and shooed away behind closed doors. He sensed in her a desperate yearning for...a friend.

He had never granted a wish before and maybe he’d enjoy making someone else happy. The happiness of a child would presumably be the purest happiness. So he decided to himself that he would grant her wish and make her happy. Part of her also longed to escape, and maybe he’d spirit her away somewhere, but only if her Mother said something careless about wanting her out of the way. That sounded fun, the double irony of being careful what you wished for...

Artagan fashioned a form for himself. A little half-elf boy her age hidden under a green cloak. A mysterious playmate. He hadn’t expected himself to have so much...fun. He couldn’t remember if he’d ever been a child. He was an immortal. He had always been. Old as the sun. Old as the moon. Forever young new as each dawning day. 

However, when he took the form of a child he became a child and getting to grow up was certainly something new and he felt himself changing, growing along with her...He cared for this little blue mortal girl and would not kidnap her or trick her into anything she’d regret. He cherished her too much for that and he would not lead her astray. 

Well, at least not so far astray that she’d be hurt...not intentionally. It was a good thing for her to push her boundaries, even if she got in trouble. She shouldn’t be locked up in a golden cage following rules forever. She was too much of a force of chaos for that…

But he felt...fond of her. She was more than a simple plaything and although he found he greatly enjoyed the taste of adoration she was more than something to eat. 

She thought of him as a god and gave him worship and that gave him power and he liked how it felt...but more than that he wanted to be whatever she needed. The girl needed someone to pray to and unlike distant deities, he would actually be there and answer her. This lonely girl should never have to feel alone. If she asked, when feeling lost, if he was there the answer would be of course.

Then he’d gotten greedy. He wanted more of a good thing. He enjoyed helping people. He enjoyed being worshipped and suddenly he was pulled and stretched thin...And he couldn’t always be there. And part of him wished he could scoop her up and carry her away so that she could have him to herself and she would have him…

Would she have him?

He’d spent years being whatever she needed or wanted him to be. All for her, of course, but he had to be honest….this was getting out of hand. He wasn’t a god and he did not want the responsibility. He still wanted to make her happy, of course, but he could only hope he could do so as himself. 

He’d never been anyone’s best friend before. Indeed, before he met Jester he would have never cared to be anyone's friend at all, not really. But he’d also never had a little girl hand him a doodled cut out paper heart with the words BFF scribbled on them or explained the concept of best friends forever. 

Perhaps at first, he was just playing at being her friend the same way he played at being her god. Experimenting with whether making others happy would amuse him. Now he was certain that he was actually her friend, and she was his only real friend, his best friend by default, and he could only hope that would be enough.

How the tables had turned. Him worrying if he’d be cool enough for her attention. She was brilliant, he’d watched her trick a witch, a fey creature, into accepting enchanted food. For a mortal, she would have made an amazing archfey. They were so alike, two peas in a pod, and he would have to trust in that. Trust in her. Because he didn’t want a worshiper, he wanted his playmate back, his partner in fun and chaos. She was all grown up now and no longer cooped up behind walls. The whole world could be their playground, now. Endless worlds could be. If she wanted that...

Artagan had been her best friend before he was her god, and maybe it could be enough for her to simply be her friend again. Hopefully.


End file.
